Improvement Insights Blog
Lean or Six Sigma? Which one is right for you?
People often ask: “Jay, should I choose Lean or Six Sigma?” My answer is, “It depends.” Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, people ask me all the time, “Jay, what should I start with: Lean or Six Sigma?” I always say: Well, are your processes sluggish? Slow? Are you delivering on time or are you missing it all the time? Then you need Lean. If it’s taking too long, if your patients are waiting too long in the waiting room: Lean.
“However, if you have too many defects, mistakes and errors, you need Six Sigma. Lean for sluggish, Six Sigma for error-prone, and those two things working in tandem can dramatically accelerate the quality and productivity of your business.
“That’s my Improvement Insight for this week. Let’s go out and improve something.”
